How much does an oil-filled radiator cost to run?
At the current price cap, an oil-filled radiator costs about 26.3p per hour, or around £384.27 a year with typical use.
Oil-filled radiator
- An hour
- 26.3p
- A day used
- £1.05
- A week
- £7.37
- A month
- £32.02
- Energy a year
- 1,460 kWh
1,000 W for 4 hours a day, every day, at 26.32p per kWh.
Excludes the daily standing charge, which you pay whatever you use.
How it compares
Yearly cost with typical use, at your unit rate.
Oil-filled radiator running costs
At 26.32p per kWh, with typical use of 4 hours a day, every day.
| Period | Energy | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Per hour | 1 kWh | 26.3p |
| Per week | 28 kWh | £7.37 |
| Per month | 122 kWh | £32.02 |
| Per year | 1,460 kWh | £384.27 |
How the cost varies
A small radiator holding a warm room on its thermostat, up to a 2,000 W radiator on full power, for an hour.
| Energy use | Per hour | Per year (typical use) |
|---|---|---|
| Lower | 15.8p | £230.56 |
| Typical | 26.3p | £384.27 |
| Higher | 52.6p | £768.54 |
Heating appliances compared
Yearly cost with typical use, at 26.32p per kWh.
| Appliance | Per hour | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Oil-filled radiator (this page) | 26.3p | £384.27 |
| Fan heater | 52.6p | £384.27 |
| Electric blanket | 1.6p | £5.76 |
Ways to spend less
- Use the thermostat. Once the room is warm, the heater switches off and on to hold the temperature, which cuts the cost.
- Heat only the room you’re in, and close the door.
- Oil-filled radiators keep giving off heat after they switch off, so you can turn them off a little before you leave the room.
How we calculate this
We take a typical oil-filled radiator at 1,000 watts (an average, as it switches on and off while running), used 4 hours a day, every day, and multiply the energy it uses by the Ofgem price cap unit rate of 26.32p per kWh.
One hour uses about 1 kWh. Use the calculator above with your own appliance’s power and how you use it for a closer figure.
Questions people ask
How much does an oil-filled radiator cost to run a year?
With typical use (4 hours a day, every day), about £384.27 a year at the current price cap, or £32.02 a month.
Are oil-filled radiators expensive to run?
They cost the same per kWh as any electric heater. A 1,500 W model on full power uses 1.5 kWh an hour, but with the thermostat cycling it often uses less.
Are oil-filled radiators cheaper than central heating?
Not per unit of heat, as gas is cheaper. But heating one room for a few hours can cost less than heating the whole house.
Does this include the standing charge?
No. The standing charge (54.83p a day under the current cap, about £200.13 a year) is a fixed daily cost for being connected. It does not change with how much you use any appliance.